Keep Warm
by Scripturience
Summary: Winter storms are a pain. Blackouts are even worse. But things aren't so bad when you have someone to weather it out with. GamTav/PBJ. Humanstuck. Cover image by kamaaaaaaa. Used with permission.


"…..and as you can see the recently issued blizzard warning is still in effect. We're expecting up to three inches of snow build-up per hou-"

Tavros tuned out the pleasant sounding weather woman's voice, getting lost in his own thoughts as he curled up on the couch. He idly toyed with his phone, hoping to be interrupted by a text or call. As he went from app to app, Tavros couldn't help but overhear words like "severe wind-chill" and "travel advisory" that only served to worry him further.

Eventually he just couldn't stand it anymore, and decided it was better to turn the TV off altogether. He'd already read the forecast online anyway.

After glancing at his phone for what felt like the thousandth time this evening, Tavros turned to the window. Not so surprisingly, nothing could be seen in the white-out conditions. A decently sized mound of snow was gathering on the outside windowsill, and the building itself almost seemed to shake with the occasional ferocious blast of wind.

Pulling his knees closer to his chest, Tavros found in hindsight that looking out the window was probably not the best way to quell his fears in this situation. Still, even as he tried to sit there and do literally nothing, he found his thoughts wandering into unpleasant scenarios.

He really just wished Gamzee would come home already.

The subject of his worry had recently finished his shift. If he hadn't already been working when the storm hit, Tavros wouldn't have let him leave in the first place. Unfortunately, he didn't have the foresight to check the forecast that day, and was currently cursing himself for it. Now he found himself doubled over on the couch thinking of 100 different scenarios in which his boyfriend could end up hurt, trapped, or even dead.

Anxiety really was a bitch.

Nonetheless, Tavros tried to maintain composure. Still, he wished the stubborn man would listen to him sometimes. Especially in situations like this. He tried to convince Gamzee to wait out the storm at work, or maybe go to Karkat's place, which was decidedly closer to where he was. However, he was dismissed adamantly because 'there was no way he could all up and leave a motherfucker in this storm by himself.' Tavros knew he wouldn't be convinced otherwise, so now all he could do was wait for his hopefully safe return.

His head snapped up at the sound of his phone notifying him of a text message. Tavros all but scrambled to the other side of the couch where the device rested. His hopes, however, were dashed slightly when he saw that the message was not in fact from Gamzee. With a sigh, he entered his passcode and opened up a text from Vriska.

'So, he back yet? ::::)'

He never really understood why she bothered with the whole 'eight eyes' thing. Vriska was weird like that. Tavros typed out a quick reply consisting of 'No, not yet…'

'Geez, well, can't blame him for taking so long. It's a nightmare out there.' Vriska promptly responded.

'Well I'm getting a little worried…..' Tavros replied truthfully.

'Hah, of course you are Tav. He'll be fine. Idiots like him are resilient.'

Tavros smiled a little at his friend's blunt reassurance. She was probably right after all. He knew he had a tendency to stress about stuff like this too much.

Deciding he needed to distract himself, Tavros reached forward and grabbed his sketchbook off the table. He started to work on a still life of the door to their apartment, since he found he literally couldn't bring himself to focus on anything else. Well, it was better than doing nothing anyway.

When he was ready to start detailing the doorknob, Tavros heard the telltale jingling of keys from behind the entryway. By the time Gamzee had a foot in the door, the smaller boy had already bolted off the sofa, nearly tripping over the coffee table rather ungracefully in the process. Before he knew it, Tavros had his arms tightly wrapped around Gamzee's torso. The taller of the two couldn't return his embrace given that he currently had handfuls of grocery bags, but he was just as happy to see Tavros regardless.

"Hey, Tav?"

"Yeah?"

"I appreciate the motherfuckin' warm welcome and all, but mind letting me get inside?"

"Oh…uh, right," Tavros answered sheepishly. He leaned up to press a quick peck to Gamzee's lips, which at the moment he noticed to be quite chapped, before pulling away and helping him with his bags.

After shutting the door behind them, Tavros and Gamzee placed the 'provisions' (mostly Faygo) on the kitchen counter. Well, that would explain why Gamzee was taking so long. "I didn't want us to be all up and without supplies during this wicked ass storm."

Tavros thought about scolding him for prolonging his exposure to said storm, but decided against it. Right now he was just overwhelmingly glad to have him safe and sound.

When they were finished tending to Gamzee's freshly purchased haul, the taller man wrapped his arms around Tavros, finally able to reciprocate his earlier affection. A smile spread across Tavros's lips, as he leaned back into his lover's embrace.

"I'm glad that you made it back," Tavros felt like it might have been a weird thing to say, but Gamzee simply hummed softly in response. He tended not to let most things bother him anyway.

While Tavros didn't want to interrupt the moment they were sharing, he couldn't help but notice that the man holding him was unpleasantly cold.

"Geez Gamzee, you're uh, freezing," he pointed out.

Tavros couldn't help but feel a little miffed when his boyfriend laughed at the subject. "Really bro? This motherfucker hadn't noticed."

The Taurus could feel his indignance from earlier bubbling to the surface, but before he could get out a word of chastising, the pair of them noticed the lights flickering overhead.

"That doesn't look good…" Tavros trailed off.

"Look like we might have a motherfuckin-"as if on cue, before Gamzee could even finish his sentence the apartment was abruptly enveloped in darkness.

"Well, fuck."

* * *

Tavros carefully poured the hot chocolate he finished preparing into two mugs. He was thankful that he remembered what his dad taught him about using matches to work gas stoves during blackouts, as well as for the fact that theirs was not electric.

Padding over to the couch, he placed Gamzee's purple mug on the table in front of him. He sat down at the other end, clutching his own steaming cup between his hands. By now his boyfriend had already changed into clothes that weren't soaked through with snow, and was currently strumming away at his guitar. The room was filled with candles, placed on any surfaces they could find to illuminate the apartment as much as possible.

Tavros sighed and slumped back into the cushions. If it wasn't so dimly lit, he might have sketched something. He didn't want to waste battery on his phone, considering this storm was expected to go on for quite a while. So instead he just sipped at his cocoa, listening to whatever notes Gamzee was throwing together. The lack of heating in the building was already becoming painfully noticeable, so Tavros was glad he had a beverage to help warm him up. If his lover wasn't playing his instrument, he might have leaned over to rest on his shoulder. Maybe his lap.

As if he could read the other man's mind, Gamzee ceased his playing and set his guitar on the floor, reaching an arm around Tavros's shoulder to pull him closer. Thankfully he didn't spill the hot chocolate in the process.

"Why'd you stop?" Tavros asked, shifting a bit to get comfortable.

"Motherfucker looked cold. Bored too," well, he couldn't deny the accuracy of those statements.

"I'll ask Karbro if we can chill at his place tomorrow. Motherfucker still has power. Doubt he'll mind," Tavros nodded slightly in agreement. Karkat could be a little abrasive at times, but he wasn't cruel. He wouldn't turn them away if they showed up at his apartment. Especially not if Gamzee was there. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. The storm had grown far too violent for either of them to venture out into. For now, they had each other to keep warm.

**AN: **As I'm sure many of you lovely people have heard, the Northeast is currently being beaten down with one hell of a snowstorm (the forecast I used in this fic was actually quoted for the one in my area). But yeah, it made me want to write this, so I did. Anyways I hope you liked it, and if you are so inclined, please give me your thoughts in a review.


End file.
